The 20 'most Southern rock' moments in Southern rock history

The guitar solos can last longer than entire pop songs. The biggest stars sometimes get killed in motorcycle accidents or plane crashes or do enough drugs they require organ transplants. A band might score a top 40 hit only to later spend much of its career playing county fairs. Southern rock has never been a sissy sport. The great thing though is musicians never had to be hotties to make it in Southern rock - they just had to be able to play or sing their tails off. Here are 20 moments that sum up Southern rock music and attitude.

Rock legend Elvis Presley advises Black Oak Arkansas singer Jim "Dandy" Mangrum to cover the song “Jim Dandy,” previously recorded by R&B vocalist LaVerne Baker in the mid-50s. “The King” was dead on. Black Oak Arkansas’ 1973 version would become that band’s musical calling card. And receive a second life 20 years later due to its inclusion in Richard Linklater’s “Dazed and Confused” comedy film.

Kick axe artwork

Jacksonville, Fla. group Molly Hatchet’s first three albums feature artwork from esteemed comic-book artist Frank Frazetta. The battle-axe wielding “Flirtin' with Disaster” LP cover is particularly iconic. The cover is perhaps even more recognizable than the album’s bar-boogie title track, a classic-rock-radio staple. Frazetta’s paintings are “Game of Thrones”-worthy images. But decades before the book or TV show existed.

'Turn it up'

As tape rolls for a “Sweet Home Alabama” vocal take, after the rhythm guitar starts in Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zant tells engineer Rodney Mills to “turn it up.” Van Zant was simply asking Mills to boost the volume in Van Zant’s headphones. “Sweet Home Alabama” was released in 1974 and became Southern rock’s signature anthem. Many listeners since have taken Van Zant’s “turn it up” as personal instructions for them to increase the volume on whatever hi-fi, car stereo, Walkman, iPhone or other device they are listening on. And fans continue to oblige the deceased Skynyrd singer to this day.

Retro-rockers The Black Crowes celebrate their third album “Amorica” in 1994 with an album-release party in which all attendees are required to consume hallucinogenic drugs and don costumes. Crowes singer Chris Robinson told me last year that the “Amorica” bash, “was basically a mix between Russ Meyer's ‘Beyond the Valley of the Dolls’ and ‘The Magic Christian,’ the Terry Southern book and the film of the same title.” (You can watch the "Amorica' promo video filmed at that 1994 party below, beginning 35 seconds in.)